The Dallas daily herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1887, 1887-07-01

Michigan creek, the Chicago wolf is bad
animal.
The Chicago crowd was not content to
make the ambitious clique dizzy with much
margin betting, but sought to harass IT In
another way. As soon rs the elevators had
been crammed full of wheat at the clique's
expense the manipulators supposed they had
reached the top OF that hill, but just at this
juncturc the Chicago board, controlled by
the bears, set about providing new storage
room and declaring 1t regular. Under the
Did rules of the board grain could not be de-
ivered ON contract unless stored in regr Jar
elevator. but the bears struck terror 10 tho
hearts OF the cliquesters by declaring that
they would pass rule making sheds and
barns regular warehouses, as well as freight
iars and the holds of vessels.
"Why," declared the bears, sit Is our duty
to provide storage room for al the wheat the
country can send us, and IL necessary we'll
rent the Exposition building and I'LL 1t full Of
wheat
Twenty miles of side tracks in and around
Chicago are covered with cars laden with
wheat, and out in the country are miles and
miles more.
"Great heavensl" exclaimed the clique;
country before we get through
That was the first sign of weakness. The
clique began to waver. First one OK its mem
bers became frightened and secretly endeav-
ored to unload upon his confreres and
save MS much Of his own bacon as he could.
His fellow conspirators detected his little
game and hauled him over the Goals. Before
this quarrel in the clique had been settled
the bears made terrific raid on the market
The clique brokers teegraphed in vain for
funds with which to fight. Over the wires
flew rumor that the Cincinnati bank, whose
chief owner was the leader Of the clique, had
closed its doors-and then the cyclone struck
the wheat pit and left ruin in its wake.
The collapsed corner was huge one. Into
it, in one way or another, the clique must
have put something like eight or ten millions
of dollars In cash wheat they had nearly
four millions, and on forty millions or more
bushels of option holdings it is thought they
had placed before abandoning the field, an
average margin of ten or twelve cents The
expense of CARRYING their cash wheat. elevator
charges, interest at bank, ETC., was 5000, 900
month. Probably one.half of the whole sum
invested on clique account is lost.
A good many Chicago men made money on
the break. Not few were lucky enough to
get $4,000 for 5000 as the result of an invest
ment covering two or three hours During
the last three days Of the fight speculation
was carried on here on most astounding
scale, something like 100,0O000O bushels
changing hands ON margin during that time.
The country has really reaped a benefit from
the corner, About Il, 00O,0 600 bushels Of wheat
were marketed at the artificial price which
the clique managed to create, and though but
little of this reaches the farmer directly,
country grain buyers are glad the corner was
started. But greater general benefit than
this may be dscerned. This collapse has
killed the corner business for years to come.
1t will be many day before another clique
summons up enough courage to attempt cor
nering the market. This immunity from ma
nipulation has been purchased at the price of
good deal of worry and temporary disturb
ance of values, but it was cheap; and the
country has the additional satisfaction Of
knowing that the cornerers were the chief
losers and that in week or two the market
will again reach its normal condition.
1t is the fashion to condemn grain corners
rs injurious to the business interests Of the
country, but the facts scarcely bear out this
view. The first and inevitable result Of a
corner is to advance prices and stimulate
marketing of products, and the country,
having grain to sell rather than to buy, prof
its by the manipulation. The country al
WAYS takes advantage of the artificial prices
created by corners to market what product 1t
has on hand and it would be good thing
for the farmers if there were corner each
year.
Contrary to the general impression, corners
are generally disastrous. The first corner
was in 1867 when B. +. Hutchinson, "Old
Hutch" took advantage Of the fact that there
was onlya million bushels in store, and forced
the price up from 81. 10 to s2.s5. Then he
sold out, and prices came down 80 cents in a
day. In 1872 John B. Lyon tried to
corner wheat. forced the price TO $3.50,
was then unable TO put up more margins, and
the price dropped 25 cents in half an hour,
and 90 cents the next day. In 1874 Jack
Sturges and b. f. Allen ran corn corner
which banlSrupted them both and closed the
doors of the Cook County bank. Jim Keene
and his associates managed to make a success
of one corner, but in attempting a second
lost upwards Of S3,00O,000 p ID. Armour,
Peter McGeoch and other Milwaukee men
have carried several successful deals, which
were shrewd manipulations rather than
corners Truman b. Handy, of Cincinnati,
and his associates made a couple of millions
out of corner in 1881, but Handy broke
himself in subsequent deal. Armour was
not in this corner, but managed to make a
nice little pot of money out of it. As soon as
he had sized up the operation he went out on
the line of his railroad, the St Paul, and bought
ND several million bushels of wheat This he
was ready TO throw into the market at the
moment most inopportune for the clique, and
the conspirators were forced to call upon the
great speculator and make terms He was
L.. .ls.ss.